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Stoke's forgotten sculptures resurface
5 May
Summary
- Over 100 sculptures were at the 1986 National Garden Festival in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Some artworks were forgotten, damaged, or disappeared after the event.
- A few sculptures remain, serving as lasting memories of the festival.
In 1986, Stoke-on-Trent hosted the National Garden Festival, which featured more than 100 public sculptures. The event's organizer, Vivien Lovell, admitted there were likely too many artworks. Over time, many of these sculptures have been forgotten, some damaged, and several have disappeared entirely.
A few significant pieces, however, still exist in Stoke-on-Trent, commemorating the festival. Antony Gormley's 'A View, A Place,' originally positioned at the site's highest point, was a mold of the artist's body. It had to be removed before the festival's end due to public interaction enlarging and distorting it.
Other artworks, such as Dhruva Mistry's 'Her Head,' have become permanent public installations. This piece was gifted to the city and later moved to Potteries Way, now designated as one of 24 heritage landmarks receiving National Lottery Heritage Fund restoration money.
More ephemeral art, like a BT audio installation about gardening experiences, also featured. Infamously, Vincent Woropay's sculpture of Josiah Wedgwood, known as Capo, was demolished during road construction, causing a local political stir. The brick-built head was later rebuilt and installed at Etruria Hall.
Lovell noted the festival was particularly beneficial for emerging artists, offering them their first chances to test ideas publicly. The initiative aimed to leverage art as a tool for urban regeneration, a goal Lovell believes was successfully achieved, cementing art's role in such processes.
